Garage door operating means



Sept. 18, 1934. w. M. HosTETLER GARAGE DOOR oPERATNG 'MEANS Filed Feb. 17, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l lmwllhmll Sept. 18, 1934. w.VM. HOSTETLER 1,973,899

GARAGE DOOR OPERATING MEANS Filed Feb. 17, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Ilill NULLA ,lx e

(l Q l QQ w kw IAL/7. Hoaeller,

Patented Sept. 18, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to means for automatically opening and closing garage doors and particularly to devices of that kind in which the doors are opened upon the approach of a vehicle,

closed when the vehicle passes into the garage,

opened when the vehicle starts to leave the garage and automatically. closed when the vehicle has left the garage.

The general object of my invention is to provide a relatively simple and positively operated means for this purpose which involves no complicated mechanism, which is strong and durable and has been found effective in actual use.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:-

Figure 1 is an inside elevation of a pair of garage doors with the operating mechanism attached to the inner faces thereof;

Figure 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan View of the casing for the operating pedals exteriorly of the door;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the casing for the operating pedals internally of the door;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a like view to Figure 5 but showing one of the leaves of the door opned;

Figure 7 is a detailed section of the connection between the operating lever on the rock shaft and the connecting rod.

Referring to these drawings, A designates the garage and B thedoor frame. The door opening is normally closedby the two doors or leaves C and D. These are both alike, each door .or vleaf being hinged to the door frame at 10. Both doors are operated.

Mounted in bearings 11 carried by the door posts of the door is a rock shaft 12 which is shown as square in cross section except'at its ends which are formed with trunnions 13 engaging in the bearings 11. One of these trunnions is angularly bent to constitute a crank 14. This crank as illustrated in Figure 2, has mounted upon it the collar 15 to which is pivoted a downwardly extending connecting rod 16. Pivotally supported upon the wall of the garage or in any other suitable manner, is a bell crank 17, one 50 arm of which is shackled to the connecting rod 16 by the shackle 18, the other arm extending downward and being loosely engaged in a longigtudinally movable block or like element 19. The element 19 is connected to two connecting rods 20 and 271. The connecting rod 20 extends into the interior of the garage and into a casing 22 setting into the iioor of the garage.

As shown in Figure 4, there is pivotally supported in bearings 23 in this casing a double crank designated generally 24, this double crank having the crank arms 25 and 26. The central portionof the casing is closed by a web 27 but at the ends of thecasing are the hinged plates or treadles 28 and 29; When one of these plates is depressed, the other is raised and vice versa. G5,

The double crank 24 is provided with a radially extending arm 30 to which the extremity of the connecting rod 20 is pivotally shackled. As the rod 20 is reciprocated, one or the other of the treadles 28 or 29 will be lowered, these treadles being connected to the cranks 25 and 26 by the connecting rods 31, these connecting rods being connected tothe cranksby the clamp plates 32.

rlhe connecting rod 2l is pivotally shackled at its forward extremity to an arm 33 mounted upon a double crank shaft 34 disposed in bearings 35 in a casing 36. Whereas the casing 22 had its treadles 28 and 29 disposed in longitudinalalinement with each other, the casing 26 has its treadles 37 and 38 disposed in transverse alinement, the doublecrank 34 being connected to these treadles by the connecting rods 39.

It will thus be seen that as the rod 21 is reciprocated, one of the treadles 37 or 38 will be raised and the other lowered.

Connected to the arm 14 and particularly to the collar l5 is a contractile spring 40 which is attached at its rear end to the wall of the garage at a point 41 which is directly opposite the axial center of the-rock shaft 12. Thus the spring will act to urge the arm 14 upward and hold it in this position or when the arm 14 has been depressed, it will act to assist `this depression after the spring has passed its center and hold it in a depressed position.

Carried upon the rock shaft12 opposite each door is a ypair of arms 42 and 43, the arm 42 extending upward and the arm 43 downward when theparts are in the position shown in Figure v1. Pivoted to the upper end of the arm 42 is a normally depending connecting rod formed in two sections 44 and 45, the section 44being inserted within the tubular section 45 and held in adjusted position by means of the set screw 46. The pivotal connection between the arm 42 and the section 44 of the connecting rod is shown in Figure 7 and consists of a pin 47 surrounded by a sleeve or roller48. In Figure 7, of course, it will be seen that the arm 42 has been turned to a horizontal position and the connecting rod 44 also to a horizontal position.

The lower end of the connecting rod section 45 is pivotally connected to a slide 49 sliding upon a vertical bar or guide 50 mounted upon the corresponding door C or D, the ends of the guide being bolted to the door. Also mounted upon the rock shaft 12 are a pair of guides for each door or leaf C or D. The Vguides are 'designated 51 and 52 and the connecting rod section 44 passes up between this pair of guides, the connecting rod section 44 sliding between these guides.

It will be obvious now, looking at Figures 5 an 6, that when the rock shaft is rotated to carry the arm 42 downward and the arm 43 upward the door and upward, swinging the door from a closed position, as shown in Figure 5, to the open position shown in Figure (i, pivot pin 47 permitting the connecting rod sections 44 and 45 to also swing in a horizontal plane and that the door will thus be opened and that upon a reverse movement of the rock shaft 12 from the position shown in Figure 6 to that shown in Figure 5, the door will be closed. The rock shaftis, of course, swung into one or the other of its positions by the action of the bell crank 17 controlled by the treadles 28 or 29 or 37 and In the operation of this mechanism, assuming that the car is within the garage and that the front wheel E is resting upon the treadle 29 and the door is closed, then as the car backs out of the garage, the front wheel will first release the treadle 29 and then depress the treadle 28. This will cause the connecting rod 16 to be drawn downward against the force of spring 40 until the spring passes its center, whereupon the spring will assist the treadle 28 in shifting the doors to their open position. This will, of course, also depress the treadle 38 and raise the treadle 37. If the owner desires to close the door,.he guides his car so that the left rear wheel passes over the depressed treadle 38 and his front wheel engages over the raised treadle 37, thus depressing it and causing the closing of the doors. When the car is 'approaching the garage, the operator guides the front wheels vso as to pass over the raised treadle, causing the depression Vof this treadle and the swinging of'r the doors to an open position.

It will be seen that I have provided a very simple, strong and positive means for opening and closing garage doors.

1. Wheel-operated, door' operating means infcluding a door hinged for horizontal swinging movement, a rock shaft mounted on the door frame and extending across the face of the door and having an upwardly and a downwardly extending arm, a vertical guide mounted on the face of the door, a slide thereon,a connecting rod pivoted at its lower'end to the slide and at its upper end to the upwardly extending arm, and'wheel-operated means vfor rocking the rock shaft. v

2. Wheel-operated door operating means including a door hinged for horizontal swinging movement, a rock shaft mounted on the door frame and extending across the face of the door and having a radially extending arm disposed when the door is closed in a position parallel to the face of the door, a vertical guide mounted on the face of the door, a slide thereon rotatably and slidably movable on the guide, a connecting rod pivoted at its lower end to the slide for pivotal movement in a vertical plane and at its upper end to said arm for lateral movement with reference to the arm, and wheel-operated means for rocking the rock shaft.

3. Wheel-operated door operating means including a door hinged for horizontal swinging movement, a rock shaft mounted on the door frame and extending across the face of the door and having a radially extending arm disposed when the door is closed in a position parallel to the face of the door, a vertical guide mounted on the face of the door, a slide thereon, a connecting rody pivoted at its lower end to the slide .and at its upper end to said arm, and wheeloperated means for rocking the rock shaft including an arm on the shaft, a bell crank lever, a connection between one arm of the bell crank lever and the arm on the rock shaft, a longitudinally reciprocatable rod operatively connected to the otherarm, and wheel-operated treadles operatively connected to opposite ends of the reciprocatable rod. Y

4. Wheel-operated door operating means including a door hinged for horizontal swinging movement, a rock shaft mounted on the door frame and extending vacross the face of the door, the rock shaft having an upwardly extending arm and a downwardly extending arm normally. disposed parallel to the face of the door rwhen the door is closed, a vertical guide mountedfon' the facev of the door, a slide thereon, a connecting rod pivoted at its lower end to the slide and at its upper end to the upwardly extending arm of the rock shaft, means attached to the downwardly extending arm and through kwhich means Athe 'connecting rod slides, and wheel-operated means for rocking the rock shaft.

5. Wheel-operated door operating means including a door hinged for horizontal swinging movement, a rock shaft mounted on the door frame and extending across the face of the door and having a radial arm, a vertical guide mounted on the face of the door, a slide thereon having rotatable and longitudinal movement on .the guide, and a connecting rod pivoted to the slide for movement in a vertical plane and pivoted to the extremity of the radial arm for lateral swinging movement, the connecting rod being formed in two longitudinally adjustable sections, and wheel-operated means for rocking the rock shaft.

6.`Wheeloperated door operating means including a door hinged for horizontal swinging movement, a rock shaft mounted on the door frame and extending across the face of the door and having a radially extending arm disposed when the door is closed in a position parallel to the face of the door, a vertical guide mounted on the face of the door, a slide thereon, a connecting rod pivoted at its lower end to the slide and at its upper end to said arm, and wheel-operated means for` rocking the rock shaft, including an arm onthe rock shaft, a bell crank lever mounted on the door frame, a connecting rod betweenthe rock shaft arm and one arm of the bell crank lever, a reciprocatable rod having a loose connectionrto thelother arm of the bell crank lever and disposed in a horizontal plane, a treadle casing disposed on the inside of the door and having two longitudinally alined ree versely operated treadles hinged thereto, a

double cra-nk mounted Within the casing and having linked connection to the treadles and having an arm connected to the reciprocatable rod, and a casing mounted exteriorly of the door having two laterally alined treadles mounted therein, a double crank mounted Within the casing and connected respectively to the two treadles, the crank having an arm pivotally connected to the reciprocatable rod.

7. Wheel operated door operating means including a door hinged for horizontal swinging movement, a rock shaft mounted on the door frame and extending across the face of the door and having a radially extending arm disposed parallel to the face of the door When the door is closed, a vertical guide mounted upon the face of the door, a slide thereon, a connecting rod pivoted to one end of the slide and at its other end pivoted for lateral swinging movement upon said arm of the rock shaft, the rock shaft having a crank arm at one end, a bell crank lever mounted upon the frame of the door, a connecting arm between the bell crank and the rock shaft arm, wheel-operated means disposed exteriorly and interiorly of the door for operating said bell crank to close and open the door, and a spring attached at one end to the door frame directlyT opposite the axial center of the rock shaft and having its outer end operatively connected to the crank arm whereby said spring will act to hold the arm in shifted position and will act to throw the crank arm from a medial position in either direction as the crank arm passes the medial position.

WILLIS M. HOSTETLER. 

